Erik Pieters' goal in the 42nd minute
was his first for six years and the Dutch left-back certainly did not
intend for his cross to drop into the top corner.

Pardew
accepted Newcastle's current run is not good enough, saying of the
fans: "I think their frustration boiled over a little bit and we need to
settle it down.

'The way to settle it down is to get a win, unfortunately it hasn't come today.'

Injuries certainly have not helped and Pardew hopes the return of top scorer Loic Remy can provoke a change in fortune.

Criticised: Alan Pardew - at St James' Park last week - said he was 'not enjoying' the criticism he was facing

Struggling: Newcastle have won just four of their last 15 matches going into today's game

He
said: 'It was close today. I thought we had good character in the
group. It was an honest performance but we lacked creative flair, and we
lack a little bit of ability in and around the box. Loic's return,
which I think will happen next week, will be important to us.'

Pardew's
main gripe was not the goal but referee Mike Jones' refusal to give a
penalty when Papiss Cisse went down under a challenge from Geoff
Cameron.

'It was a bit
of a fluke goal,' said the Magpies boss. 'The wind took hold of it,
which made it almost impossible for Tim (Krul) to save, but I thought
the call before that when we should have had a penalty was a big turning
point, because we need a goal and that would have been a nice
opportunity for us.'